France vs Morocco: Africa's Hope Now Rests on the Atlas Lions

Nine African teams started this World Cup. All nine made the Round of 32, the best group-stage showing in CAF history. Tonight, only one is left.

Egypt's exit on Tuesday was as cruel as eliminations get, and it means everything the continent has built at this tournament now rides on one fixture: France vs Morocco, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough this evening. Kickoff is 8 PM Ghana time, a place in the semi-finals is on the line, and there's a 2022 score to settle.

Atlanta Heartbreak: How Egypt's Run Ended

For 79 minutes on Tuesday night, Egypt were pulling off the upset of the World Cup. Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Ziko had the Pharaohs 2-0 up on the defending champions, Ziko's goal finished off a move that started with Mohamed Salah driving through the middle of the pitch. Argentina, winners of it all in 2022, were eleven minutes from going home.

Then the champions did what champions do. Cristian Romero headed in a Lionel Messi cross in the 79th minute, Messi himself equalised four minutes later with his eighth goal of the tournament (the most of any player), and deep in stoppage time Enzo Fernández buried a Lautaro Martínez cross at the end of a counter that began, brutally, with Salah being dispossessed on the edge of Argentina's box. 3-2. Full time. Africa's second-last team, gone in the most painful way imaginable.

Egypt still leave with their first-ever World Cup knockout win (the shootout against Australia) and more credit than most sides beaten in the Round of 16. But it stung, and it left Morocco carrying the continent alone.

Tonight: France vs Morocco, With History Attached

If you were anywhere near a screen in December 2022, you remember the last time France vs Morocco happened at a World Cup: the semi-final in Qatar, when Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani ended the greatest run an African team has ever produced, 2-0. Tonight is the rematch, one round earlier, and Morocco arrive as a far more seasoned side than the one that made history four years ago.

Their route here has been proper knockout football: a penalty-shootout win over the Netherlands in the Round of 32, then their most complete performance of the tournament, a 3-0 dismantling of co-hosts Canada with Azzedine Ounahi scoring twice. They're unbeaten in five games at this World Cup.

The problem is that France are too, and more emphatically: five wins from five, 14 goals scored, just two conceded. Les Bleus have looked like the best team in the tournament, and the bookmakers price them accordingly. Morocco's biggest selection worry is top scorer Ismael Saibari, who limped out of the Canada win and remains a doubt.

The Odds: France Favourites, But Not Untouchable

France around 1.55–1.58 in 90 minutes is the market saying roughly a two-in-three chance, and on form it's hard to argue. But look at that draw price. Morocco's knockout formula, in 2022 and again this tournament, is to strangle games, keep them goalless for long stretches and drag opponents into the deep water of extra time and penalties: it's how they eliminated Spain in 2022 and the Netherlands two weeks ago.

That makes the draw at 3.80–3.90 and the under 2.5 goals markets arguably better reflections of how Morocco actually play than the outright win. If you believe in the fairytale itself, Morocco to qualify (any method) is priced around 3.60–3.80, roughly half the odds of them winning inside 90 minutes.

We've Been Here Before, and Ghanaians Know It Better Than Anyone

Africa knocking on the semi-final door is not a new story, and no fanbase carries the scar of it like Ghana's. Johannesburg, 2 July 2010: the Black Stars were one kick from becoming the first African team ever to reach a World Cup semi-final. In the final minute of extra time against Uruguay, Dominic Adiyiah's header was goal-bound until Luis Suárez deliberately punched it off the line, a red card and a penalty, and the whole continent held its breath.

Asamoah Gyan, who had already scored penalties against Serbia and Australia that tournament, smashed this one off the crossbar. Uruguay won the shootout, Suárez celebrated in the tunnel, and the door Africa had forced open slammed shut. It took twelve more years for Morocco to finally walk through it in Qatar, becoming the continent's first semi-finalists in 2022.

(And in a twist of fate this World Cup seems to enjoy, Ghana's exit this time was set up by a Luis Suárez too: the Colombian striker, no relation, whose cross created the goal that beat the Black Stars in Kansas City.)

So yes, this is our chance for the semis again. No African side has ever gone further than that 2022 run; win tonight and Morocco match it with a game to spare, at the end of a tournament where Africa sent nine teams into the knockout rounds for the first time ever. If you're a Black Stars fan wondering whether it's acceptable to paint your face red and green for a night, we covered exactly this in our guide to who Ghanaians can support. The answer hasn't changed. Tonight, all of Africa is Moroccan, and maybe, sixteen years on, someone finally takes the penalty Gyan is owed.

Where to Watch and Bet in Ghana

Kickoff is 8 PM Ghana time, a comfortable evening slot. If you're having a flutter, stick to platforms licensed by the Gaming Commission of Ghana: our 1xBet, Betway and SportyBet reviews cover MoMo deposit speeds and welcome offers if you haven't picked a book yet. And remember, since the 10% withholding tax was abolished, winnings are paid in full.